Structural elements to form racks



p 23, 1969 w. E. LAWMAN 3,468,430

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS TO FORM RACKS Filed June 6, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet llnvenlor WILLIAM EWARD LAWN A Home y Sept. 23, 1969 w. E. LAWMAN3,468,430

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS TO FORM RACKS Filed June 6, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet :2

lnvenlor WILLIAM EWARD LAWMAN B y L4 L4 1 Wm 1 )4 JAN.- l Attorney P1969 w. E. LAWMAN 3,468,430

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS To FORM RACKS Filed June 6, 1967 4 Sheets$heet 5 asig- U 0@ I murder WILLIAM EINARD LAWMAN ltorney Sept. 23, 1969 w. E.LAWMAN STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS TO FORM RACKS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 6,1967 'lnvenlor WILLIAM EDWARD LAWMAN By I U 144,. mu M41 1 M MM AttorneyUnited States Patent US. Cl. 211-182 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA structural means to form racks comprising a first hollow post elementrectangular in cross-section having apertures in opposed pair of thewalls and a second element dimensioned to fit into the apertures and beheld therein by bolt means extending through bolt holes located in amedian plane transverse to the apertures in the walls. The structuralmeans may further comprise a second post element having elongatedapertures spaced along one side wall into which is fitted a platesecured to an end fitting on the second element and means to securetogether said second element and said second post element.

T his application is a continuation-in-part of my prior application Ser.No. 369,917 filed May 25, 1964, now abandoned, and has for an object toprovide structural elements designed for assembly to form racks,particularly racks or supports for electric cables or pipes. Theelements which the invention provides can be assembled in a number ofways, and can be secured to walls or be self-supporting so as to providestable support for relatively heavy elongated articles.

Another object of the invention is to provide structural meanscomprising a first element serving as a post, of hollow, substantiallyrectangular cross-section having in one opposed pair of its walls anumber of equally spaced, substantially rectangular apertures, theapertures in said pair of walls being of the same size and in register,two longitudinal sides of each aperture being parallel to the length ofthe element, and having a number of registering pairs of bolt holes inthe other opposed pair of walls, said bolt holes being located in thetransverse median planes of successive apertures in said one pair ofwalls; a second element, of hollow substantially rectangularcross-section and of dimensions such that said second element fitsthrough a registering pair of apertures in the first element and issupported upon lower transverse sides of said apertures, and havingregistering pairs of bolt holes in its pair of walls that are fitted tosaid two longitudinal sides of said apertures in the first element; andbolt means which extend through a pair of bolt holes in said secondelement and at least one bolt hole in said first element holding the twoelements together with the second element extending horizontally throughthe first element.

The structural means according to the invention may further comprise athird element to serve as another post, of hollow substantiallyrectangular cross-section, having in at least one of its walls a numberof equally spaced, substantially rectangular apertures, two sides ofeach aperture being parallel to the length of the third element; andsaid second element having fixed to one of its ends, remote from saidfirst element, a plate, the plate bearing, on the side facing away fromthe second element, locating means for co-operating with at least oneaperture in said third element, and having means whereby said secondelement is securable to the third element to hold 3,468,430 PatentedSept. 23, 1969 the second element in a required position relative to thethird element. H

Structural elements according to the invention, together with structuralmeans built up therefrom will now be described in more detail by way ofexamples with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows structural post and beam elements and illustrates howthese may be assembled together.

FIGURE 2 shows a further form of structural element and also illustratesa method of fixing further elements to it,

FIGURE 3 shows a further way of assembling structural elements together;

FIGURE 4 is a section on the line IV-IV of FIG- URE 3,

FIGURE 5 shows an alternative mode of assembling structural elementstogether,

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a member for use with the structuralelements,

FIGURE 7 is a horizontal section through the median plane of a beamintersecting a post as shown in FIG- URE 1, and

FIGURE 8 is a similar section of a modified assembly.

In FIGURE 1, the element shown generally as 1 is for use as a post. Theelement is of square, hollow section, having sides 2 and 3 opposite toeach other and sides 4 and 5 opposite to each other. In each one of thefour sides there is formed a series of rectangular apertures 6 and aseries of bolt holes 7. The apertures and bolt holes alternate along thelength of the element and the centre of each bolt hole lies on thelongitudinal median plane of two adjacent apertures in the same wall.The apertures are all of the same size, and these and the bolt holes inopposite walls are in register with each other. The centre of each bolthole in each wall lies on the transverse median plane of a registeringpair of rectangular apertures of the adjacent walls. Thus the bolt hole8 in the wall 2 lies on the transverse median plane of the rectangularaperture 6 in the wall 4, and the bolt hole 7 in the wall 4 lies on thetransverse median plane of the rectangular aperture 9 in the wall 2.Although the apertures 6, 9 are shown in the figure as being exactlyrectangular, in practice it is desirable that the corners be rounded ofito make the apertures substantially rectangular.

As shown in FIGURE 1 the post 1 may be free standing, supported on thefloor by a base plate 10 having a projecting square boss 11 ofdimensions such that it fits closely within the square element 1. If theboss 11 is a push fit within the element 1 then no further fixing meansare necessary, but if not then the boss can be designed to receive afixing bolt passing through the bolt hole 12 and the hole in registerwith this in the opposite wall.

The posts may be manufactured to standard lengths, but the height of anassembly using the posts can be varied by joining a number of poststogether using connecting elements such as the element 13. This elementis in the form of a sleeve which again is a close fit within the squareelement 1 and is formed with bolt holes such as 14 for registering withbolt holes in the walls of the ele ment 1 and an adjoining element sothat the two elements are firmly held together.

FIGURE 1 also illustrates a second structural element 15 of rectangularcross-section to serve as a beam. In this case the opposite walls 16 and17 are longer than the opposite walls 18 and 19. The walls 16 and 17 areformed with alternate substantially rectangular apertures 20 and boltholes in the form of elongated slots 21. The centre line of each slot 21lies on the longitudinal median plane of two adjacent rectangularapertures. The apertures and slots in the opposite walls 16 and 17 areagain in register with each other. The walls 18 and 19 are formed withbolt holes in the form of slots 22 only, and have no rectangularapertures. The external dimensions of the element are such that is maybe passed through registering rectangular apertures 9 in opposite wallsof the first element 1 as shown in the figure. The two elements 1 and 15are then held together by a bolt 23 and nut 24 passing through reducingwashers 25 and 26 and through aligned bolt holes 8 and 21 in theelements 1 and 15 respectively. The dimensions of the rectangularapertures in the member 15 are the same as those in the member 1 so thata second length of the member 15 can be passed through apertures in afirst length of this member.

The diameter of the bolt holes 8 in the element 1, as more clearly shownin FIG. 7, is greater than the size of the head of the bolt 23, which isin turn larger than the width of the slot-form bolt holes 21 in theelement 15. If, therefore, the reducing washer 25 is omitted, the headof the bolt will be able to be located against the wall 16 of theelement 15 and within the bolt hole 8, so that the Wall 2 of the element1 will have no protrusion therefrom.

A third type of structural beam element is shown at 27 in FIGURE 1. Itwill be seen that this is again rectangular and of the same dimensionsas the element 15. In the element 27 the wall 28 and its opposite wallare formed with elongated slots 29 only, and the wall 30 and theopposite wall are formed with smaller bolt holes 31 only, intended toreceive self-tapping screws. The bolt holes 31 are uniformly spaced. Theslots 29 are of the same dimensions as the slots 21 in the element 15.

Two lengths of the element 15 can be joined together end to end, or alength of the element 15 can be joined axially to a length of theelement 27, as shown in FIG- URE 1, by a connecting piece 32 havingexternal dimensions such that it is a push fit within the elements to bejoined. The connecting piece 32 may again be formed with bolt holes 33for registering with bolt holes or slots in the elements to be joined tomake a fixed connection.

FIGURE 2 shows a supplementary type of post element 42. Again theelement is of rectangular cross-section having opposite walls 43 and 44and opposite walls 45 and 46. Rectangular apertures 47 and bolt holes 48are alternately formed only in the wall 43 and the centre of each bolthole lies on the longitudinal median plane of two adjacent apertures.The wall 44 opposite to the wall 43 has spot welded to it sections ofmild steel strip 49. The walls 45 and 46 both have a centrallongitudinal groove 50 for strengthening purposes. The element 42 isdesigned for use during building construction when it is positionedbehind concrete shuttering and held by nails or wires to the back of theshuttering in a temporary manner until concrete has been poured. Afterremoval of the shuttering the wall 43 of the element is the only wallshowing and the mild steel sections 49 act as firm anchors for themember within the concrete. When the concrete is poured care must betaken that it is not allowed to enter into the section of the element,and to this end plastic caps 51, 52 and 53 are provided, which arerespectively press fits within the end of the element 42, within therectangular apertures 47, and within the bolt holes 48. After theconcrete has been poured and the shuttering removed the caps 52 and 53can be removed from the apertures in the bolt holes, although it will beseen that the cap 51 remains a fixture in the concrete.

FIGURE 2 also shows the method of attaching a structural element to thepost element 42. In this case the structural element to be attached isshown by way of example as the element 15 which is supported at adistance from the element 42 by a post element 1 as shown in FIGURE 1.The element 15 is welded at its end to the front surface of a plate 55,the rear surface of which carries to locating projections, a rectangularprojection 56 and a circular projection 57. A bolt hole 58 is formedthrough the location projection 56.

To fix the member 15 to the post element 42 a bolt 59 with a rectangularwasher 68 which is welded to the bolt head is first inserted into arectangular aperture 61. The washer 60 is of such dimensions that in oneposition it will pass through the aperture 61 but when rotated 45 fromthis position it will bear against the inner face of the wall 43 inwhich the aperture 61 is formed. After the washer has been turned tothis position the plate 55 is then brought up to the wall 43, and thebolt is passed through the bolt hole 58 in the plate. The locatingprojection 56 on the plate is fitted into the aperture 61, and thelocating projection 57 on the plate is fitted into the bolt hole 62, ineach case the locating projections being of such a size that they are aclose fit within the aperture and bolt hole respectively. A reducingwasher 63 is then passed over the end of the bolt 59, and a nut 64 isscrewed along the bolt into tight engagement with the front face of theplate 55. This arrangement provides a firm cantilever support for theelement 15.

FIGURE 3 again shows the post element 1 as described with reference toFIGURE 1, and shows how this may be attached to a wall 65 rather thanused as a free standing element. The wall 65 has projecting therefrom abolt 66 on which is optionally fitted a spacing boss 67. The bolt 66passes through registering apertures, one of which is shown as 68, inopposite walls 69 and 70 of the element 1. A pair of rectangular washers71 with their corners relieved are passed through the aperture 68 whenin the position shown in solid lines in FIGURE 3, and the inner one ofthese washers is then passed through that aperture in wall 70 which isoposite aperture 68. The two washers are then rotated through 90 to theposition shown in broken lines in this figure. The washers can thus bearagainst the inner and outer faces of the wall 70. A nut 72 is thenscrewed onto the end of the bolt 66 by a box spanner inserted throughthe aperture 68 and it will be seen that the nut bearing on the outerwasher which in turn bears on the inner face of the wall 70 holds theelement 1 in position spaced from the wall 65 by the spacing boss 67 andinner washer 71.

FIGURE 3 also shows, in conjunction with FIGURE 4, yet anotheralternative method of supporting a member 73 on the post 1 in cantileverfashion. Again the member may be of any form, particularly the form ofmember 15 or 27 as shown in FIGURE 1. The member is welded to a plate 74in which two rectangular cuts are made, the cut out material being bentback from the plate as shown at 75 in FIGURE 4. The distance 76 betweenthe rear face of the plate 74 and the front of the bent back part 75 isslightly greater than the thickness of the wall of the post member 1.Projecting from the front face of the plate 74 is a hollow circular boss77, the inner surface of the outer part of which is threaded as shown at78. A threaded head 79 can be screwed into the boss 77, and

the head carries a compression spring 80 which bears on a locking member81 of circular cross-section projecting through a circular hole 82 inthe plate' 74. The locking member 81 has at its inner end an outwardlyturned flange 83 which engages against the sides of the hole 82 to holdthe member captive within the boss 77.

To fit the plate to the post member 1 the bent back parts 75 are alignedwith two adjacent rectangular apertures 68 in a wall of the element andthe plate 74 is pressed into contact with the wall of the element somoving the locking member 81 into the boss 77 against the action of thespring 80. When the plate 74 is flush against the wall of the elementthe bent back parts 75 are located within the element 1 so that adownward movement of the plate 74 causes the parts 75 to engage behindthe inner face of the wall of the element below the apertures throughwhich they have been passed. When the locking member 81 comes into axialalignment with the hole 69 in the element 1 between the two apertures 68then the spring 80 acts to force the element 81 into that hole to lockthe plate 74 in the required position. To remove the plate the head 79is screwed outwardly along the boss 77 to withdraw the spring and thuswithdraw the locking member 81 to which the end of the spring is fixed.When the locking member is withdrawn from the hole the plate 74 can belifted to withdraw the parts 75 from the wall of the element 1.

It has already been stated that the diameter of the bolt holes 8 in theelement, is greater than the size of the head of the bolt 23 so that thehead of this bolt can rest within the bolt hole 8 when the reducingwasher 25 is omitted. This feature allows the plate 74 to be secured tothe element 1 as described in such a position that the locking member 81can engage, for example as shown in FIGURE 7, the same bolt hole 8through which the head of a bolt 23 has been passed.

FIGURE 5 shows an alternative form of the part shown in FIGURE 4, andusable in the same Way as that part. The part of FIGURE 5 comprises achannel section element 90 within which an end of an element such as theelement 27 is welded. The outer surface 91 of the base of the element 90has welded to it, or formed integrally with it, a rectangular projection92 of a size to fit in an aperture 9 of a post element 1, or an aperture61 of an element 42 (FIG. 2). Above the projection 92 is a bolt hole 93,spaced from the projection 92 to register with a bolt hole 8 in the post1 (or a bolt hole 62 in the element 42).

In use, when the element 90 is to be secured to a post 1 (or 42) theprojection 92 is inserted through a rectangular aperture 9 in the post 1(or 68 in the post 42), and a bolt (not shown) is passed through theregistering holes 8 and 93, and secured by tightening a nut thereon. Inthe arrangement shown in FIG. 5, such bolt may be passed outwardlythrough said holes from the interior of the post 1, after first beingentered through the rectangular aperture adjacent the bolt hole 8. Thehead of said bolt may be held by a key inserted through said aperturewhile the nut, located within the channel element 90, is beingtightenedon the bolt.

The part as just described has the advantage over that shown in FIGURE 4that only one rectangular aperture of the post element is utilisedrather than two, and the capacity of such post element is thus doubled.

FIGURE 6 shows a member for use with elements such as 27 or 15(FIGURE 1) having a cross-sectlon such that they can be passed throughrectangular apertures in a post. Elements of this cross-section can beformed with any required configuration of bolt holes relative to therectangular apertures, and in fact the element 94 shown in FIG. 6 is amodification of the element 27 having in its side walls 95, 96 uniformlyspaced bolt holes 97 (in place of the slots 29 of element 27) and in atleast its upper wall 98 uniformly spaced smaller holes 31 adapted toreceive self tapping screws.

Elements such as 27 or 94 with bolt holes 31 in the r upper walls can beused for supporting cable trays directly, but when cable cleats are tobe used for securing a cable then an element 15 with elongated slots 22,rather than circular bolt holes is desirably to be used. The member 100shown in FIGURE 6 forms an adapter allowing cable cleats to be securedto an element such as 27 or 94 with bolt holes in the upper wall.

The adapter 100 takes the form of an inverted U- shaped member having atop wall 110 and two side walls 111 and 112, the dimensions being suchthat the adapter will fit over an element 94 '(or 27) having thecrosssection to fit within apertures 9 of a post. The top wall 110 ispunched with a series of elongated slots 114 arranged with a shorterdistance between adjacent slots than is the case with any of thestructural elements themselves. The lower edges of the side walls havenotches 115 with semi-circular bases of a diameter equal to the diameterof the bolt holes 97 in the opposite walls 95, 96 of the element 113.The depth of the side walls 111 and 112 is such that when the adapter isresting with its notches =115 engaging on bolts passed through the boltholes 97 in the element 94 then a clearance 118 is left between the topwall of the adapter and the surface 119 of the element. The pitch ofnotches is half the pitch of bolt holes 97, so as to afford convenientadjustability of the adapter 100 along the member 94.

To secure a cable cleat 120 to the adapter when in position on theelement, two key bolts 121 and 122 are used which have heads 123 of suchdimensions that they can pass through the slots in one angular position,but not when rotated 45 from this position. The heads of the bolts arepassed through the required slots, and then turned through 45 to lockthe heads in the space 118 between the adapter and the element 94, withthe heads resting on the surface 98 of the element. A cleat of anyrequired form then has its bolt holes 124 passed over the bolts and islocked in position on the bolts by nuts 125.

The provision of the space 118 between the element and the adapter andthe use of key bolts means that cleats can be added to or removed fromthe assembly without disturbing any other cleats or their associatedcables.

Use of this adapter allows a full range of possible positions for thecleats, due to the slots, and yet enables the cleats to be supported byan element of very strong section. Although the adapter has beendescribed when positioned above the element 113, it will be appreciatedthat it can equally well be positioned below the element.

FIGURE 8 illustrates a modification of the structure shown in FIGURE 1,being a section on the common horizontal median plane of a pair ofapertures 9 in a post 1 and of an element 15 passing through and securedin said apertures. Generally, a rack constructed of means according tothe invention, for supporting electric cables, will consist of aplurality of assemblies each comprising a free standing post 1 with atleast one horizontal beam as shown in FIGURE 1, the cables extendingsubstantially at right angles to the lengths of the beams. Thehorizontal beams may be extended so as to be supported in one of thevarious modes described by a wall element 42 as shown in FIGURE 2 or byanother post 1 secured to a wall as shown in FIGURE 3. In themodification according to FIGURE 8 a plurality of assemblies asaforesaid is connected together by longitudinal stringers 151, each ofwhich may be of the same form as any of the beam elements 15, 27 or 94hereinbefore described. Such elements 151 have welded into theirinteriors, across each end, and spaced by a suitable distance from theend, a plate 152 which has a tapped hole 153 at its middle to receiveone screwed end of a stud 154. The beam -15 is located in the apertures9 of the post 1 and is secured by said stud 154 passing through aregistering pair of the slots 21 in the side walls of said beam.Reducing washers 25 and 26 are passed over the respective ends of thestud so that as shown the inner ends of said washers bear upon the sidewalls of the beam 15, and the enlarged head portions of said washers areaccommodated between the outer surfaces of the walls 2 and 3 of the postand the adjacent surfaces of the plates 152 in the ends of the stringerbeams 151. These beams 151 are turned in the appropriate direction toscrew the plates 152 up on the threaded ends of the stud 154, so thatthe end surfaces of the hollow sections of the beams 151 tightly engageupon the surfaces of the walls 2 and 3 of the post. A rack structurecomprising several post and transverse beam assemblies is thus bracedlongitudinally by the presence of at least one beam element 151 betweeneach two of the free standing posts.

It will be appreciated that all the parts that have been described areinter-usable with each other and it is a simple matter to decide whatparts are necessary to build up any desired rack structure. It will alsobe obvious that a number of elements not shown and describedspecifically can also be designed, for example with dilferentconfigurations of bolt holes relative to the rectangular apertures.

The elements described are not of course limited to any particulardimensions. For heavy duty cable supports and other applications wherehigh loading is expected the elements are preferably made from gaugesteel. For lighter loads 12 or 14 gauge steel is preferable. Convenientdimensions for the post element 1 when using 12 gauge (.104 inch) steelare that it may have Overall dimensions of 2" x 2", with side wallswhich are flat both internally and externally over a width of at least 1/2" and are joined by slightly rounded portions as shown in FIGURES 7and 8 rather than meeting in the exact right angle shown in the otherdrawings. The series of alternate rectangular apertures and bolt holesare symmetrical about the longitudinal mean plane, and are alsosymmetrical about transverse planes at a unit longitudinal spacing of3". The rectangular apertures are slightly more than 1" wide in thetransverse direction by slightly more than 1%." long, and the bolt holesare of a size suitable for the passage therethrough of the head of aselected standard bolt, for example 5 to allow the passage of the headof a bolt.

The elements 15, 27 and 94 have external dimensions allowing them to bepassed through the rectangular 1" x 1 /2"wide apertures in theelement 1. The wider flat walls 16 and 17 of the element have theapertures again of a size slightly more than 1" wide by 1 /2" long,while the slots 21 are wide to provide clearance for the shank but notthe head of a /s" bolt, but are 1 /2" in length. The bolt holes 97 ofelement 94 are also diameter. The slots 22 in the walls 18 and 19 of theelements 15, and the slots 29 of element 27, are of the same size as theslots 21 and in addition the spacing between the slots 22 and 29 isagain 1 /2". This arrangement of slots 21 and 29 means that the element15 or 27 can be adjusted to any required length from the post element byvarying the position of the bolt in the slot. In a particular examplewhere the elements 15 are used as beams between two posts at the sideof, say a tunnel, the elongated holes in the section 15 allow adjustmentof 3" due to the fact that the elongated hole at each end is 1 /2" inlength thus giving this adjustment at either end. To adjust by more thanthis 3" the next slot along the member is used, and the fact that thenearest ends of the slots are 1%." apart means that the member 15 may beadjusted to any desired width. When using 14 gauge sheet the dimensionsof the elements can be suitably scaled down. The holes 31 in elements 27(FIGURE 1) and 94 (FIGURE 6) may for example be of .209 inch diameter toreceive No. 14 self-tapping screws, for the direct securing of cabletrays and like supports to the beam elements.

Structural elements according to the invention are adapted to afford avariety of racks affording a multiplicity of anchorages for pipe orcable clips, hangers or other supports of various forms designed tosupport pipes or cable singly or in groups, or perforated tray platingwhich is often employed, in various widths, for supporting numbers ofelectric cables.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. Structural means comprising a first element serving as a post, ofhollow, substantially rectangular cross-section having in one opposedpair of its walls a number of equally spaced, substantially rectangularapertures, the apertures in said pair of walls being of the same sizeand in register, two longitudinal sides of each aperture being parallelto the length of the element, and having a number of registering pairsof bolt holes in the other opposed pair of walls, said bolt holes beinglocated in the transverse median planes of successive apertures in saidone pair of walls; a second element, of hollow substantially rectangularcross-section and of dimensions such that said second element fitsthrough a registering pair of apertures in the first element and issupported upon lower transverse sides of said apertures, and having aseries of registering pairs of bolt holes in its pair of walls that arefitted to said two longitudinal sides of said apertures in the firstelement; and bolt means which extend through a pair of bolt holes insaid second element and at least one bolt hole in said first elementholding the two elements together with the second element extendinghorizontally through the first element.

2. Structural means according to claim 1, wherein said first element hasbolt holes of a size to permit the passage of a head of a bolt and saidsecond element has bolt holes of a size to permit the passage of a shankand prevent the passage of said head of the same bolt, said bolt meanswhich hold the two elements together comprising two reducing washerslocated upon said bolt, each in one of a registering pair of bolt holesin said first element, with a head of said bolt and a nut memberrespectively engaging tightly each upon one of said washers.

3. Structural means according to claim 1, wherein said first element hasbolt holes of a size to permit the passage of a head of a bolt and saidsecond element has bolt holes of a size to permit the passage of a shankand prevent the passage of said head of the same bolt, said bolt meanswhich hold the two elements together comprising such a bolt with itshead bearing against one wall of said second element and thereby housedwithin said first element, a reducing washer located upon said bolt inone of the bolt holes of said first element and bearing upon one wall ofsaid first element, and nut means engaging said bolt and tightened uponsaid reducing washer.

4. Structural means according to claim 1, wherein said bolt meanscomprises a stud having two screw threaded ends extending through a pairof bolt holes in said first element and a pair of bolt holes in saidsecond element, two reducing washers located in said bolt holes of thefirst element each upon one end of the stud, the inner ends of saidwashers bearing upon the lateral surfaces of said second element, andtwo longitudinal stringer elements each having in one end a recess and atapped hole to engage one end of said stud, the two stringer elementsbeing rotated with said tapped hole in engagement with the stud totighten the ends of said stringer elements upon opposite walls of saidfirst element, said recesses accommodating the head portions of thereducing washers.

5. Structural means according to claim 4, wherein each of said stringerelements has a hollow section similar to that of said second element,and a plate welded within the section at a suitable spacing from theend, said tapped hole being formed in the plate.

6. Structural means comprising a first element serving as a post, ofsubstantially square hollow section, each two opposed pairs of its wallshaving series of rectangular apertures, upper and lower sides of eachaperture being perpendicular to the length of the element, and boltholes alternate with said apertures, the apertures in opposite wallsbeing of the same size and in register, the bolt holes in opposite wallsbeing in register, and the bolt holes in each pair of walls beinglocated on the transverse median planes of the rectangular apertures inthe other pair of walls; and a second element passing through an opposedpair of apertures in the first element, and having in one opposed pairof walls spaced series of co-axial bolt holes so disposed that a pair ofbolt holes in the second element register with a pair of bolt holes inthe first element for the passage of bolt means locking the two elementstogether with the second element extending horizontally and transverselyto the first element, and supported on said lower sides of the pair ofapertures through which it passes.

7. Structural means according to claim 1, further comprising a thirdelement intended to serve as another post, of hollow substantiallyrectangular cross-section, having in at least one of its walls a numberof equally spaced, substantially rectangular apertures, two sides ofeach aperture being parallel to the length of the third element; andsaid second element having fixed to one of its ends, re-

mote from said first element, a plate, the plate bearing, on the sidefacing away from the second element, locating means for co-operatingwith at least one aperture in said third element, and having meanswhereby said second element is securable to the third element to holdthe second element in a required position relative to the third element.

8. Structural means according to claim 1, further comprising a thirdelement intended to serve as another post, of hollow, substantiallyrectangular cross-section, having in at least one of its walls a numberof equally spaced, substantially rectangular apertures with two sides ofeach aperture parallel to the length of the third element, and a numberof bolt holes alternate with and equally spaced between said apertures;and said second element having a plate fixed to one of its ends, remotefrom said first element, the plate bearing, on the side facing away fromthe second element, locating means for co-operating with at least oneaperture in said third element, and said plate further having means toco-operate with a bolt hole adjacent said one aperture in the thirdelement, for the securing of said plate and therewith the end of thesecond element to said third element.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,312,985 3/ 1943 Bales.2,654,487 10/ 1953 Degener 182-178 2,784,812 3/1957 Kindorf. 2,928,5123/ 1960 Slater et al. 3,003,600 10/ 1961 MacKenzie 52-633 3,006,443 10/1961 Siler. 3,061,055 10/ 1962 Nijhuis. 3,067,985 12/ 1962 Cusack 25622FOREIGN PATENTS 418,418 2/ 1947 Italy. 587,449 6/ 1959 Italy.

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner RAYMOND D. KRAUS, Assistant ExaminerUS. Cl. X.R.

